‘Cat Grandpa’ goes viral for napping with shelter pets

The retired Spanish teacher – dubbed Cat Grandpa – can’t quite believe his online fame Photographs of a Wisconsin retiree cat-napping with his feline friends have gone viral – melting hearts online and leaving the shelter inundated with well-wishes and $40,000 (£30,000) in donations.Terry Laurmen, 75, has become a regular volunteer at the Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary in Green Bay over the last year.
Set up like a cat cafe – with sprawling arm chairs and the bird channel on loop on television – the shelter was set up by 27-year-old Elizabeth Feldhausen in 2016.
It specialises in looking after, rehabilitating and rehoming cats with disabilities and special care needs who would be at risk of being put down elsewhere.
Terry, a retired Spanish teacher, began turning up almost every day with his own special brush to groom the cats.
As a cat-lover who travels for large chunks of the year, he is unable to get one of his own, but has always loved volunteering with them.
“They all know him, when he walks through the door they run over to him because they know he has the special brush and the special treats. They all pile on top of him and rub all over him and just love him,” sanctuary owner Elizabeth told the BBC.
But grooming 20-30 cats can get exhausting, and the other volunteers began snapping shots of Terry taking his daily siestas with his furry friends.
The shelter has taken to dubbing the loyal volunteer “Cat Grandpa” – a name he approves of – but neither can quite get over his new-found online fame.
“I knew people in our community would like it but I didn’t know how far it would go,” Elizabeth says.
“When I told him how many people had seen his post he was really, really happy.” -BBC